Police searching for an Indian student missing since a New Year's Eve party have found his body.

Souvik Pal, 18, disappeared during a night out at the Warehouse Project in Trafford, Greater Manchester.

He was last seen at the event at about 11pm and was reported missing by a flatmate the following morning.

Pal, who studied at Manchester Metropolitan University, was found dead by specialist officers in Bridgewater Canal, near Manchester United's Old Trafford football ground, at 2pm on Tuesday.

Detective Chief Inspector Colin Larkin said: "Our thoughts and condolences are with Souvik's family at this devastating time and our officers are doing all they can to support them.

"We do not believe there are any suspicious circumstances surrounding Souvik's death and a file will be submitted to the coroner in due course."

Pal's father, Santanu, had travelled from his home in Bengaluru to help with the search.

A number of appeals were made to trace his son, including the use of digital advertising hoardings at United's recent match against Liverpool.

Pal had trained for a part-time job serving refreshments at the stadium and worked at the game against West Bromwich Albion on 29 December.

A postmortem was due to be carried out on Tuesday night, the results of which are expected to be revealed on Wednesday.

Professor John Brooks, vice-chancellor of Manchester Metropolitan University, said: "This is desperately sad news for Souvik's family, friends and fellow students. We extend our sincerest thoughts and deepest condolences to Souvik's father, Santanu, who we have been working closely with in the past weeks, and to his family and friends in India and Manchester.

"Many of the people associated with Souvik at the university and in the wider region have been personally involved and deeply touched during this search. We would very much like to thank all of them and Greater Manchester police for everything they have done.

"Souvik was a very sociable and affable young man who embraced his studies and had a real passion for design engineering. He was a fine student with great potential – for all of us it is a huge shock and tragedy to lose him in this way."